Unifying concepts in stimulus-secretion coupling in endocrine cells and some implications for therapeutics.

ABSTRACT: Stimulus-secretion coupling (SSC) in endocrine cells remains underappreciated as a subject for the study/teaching of general physiology. In the present article, we review key new electrophysiological, electrochemical, and fluorescence optical techniques for the study of exocytosis in single cells that have made this a fertile area for recent research. Based on findings using these techniques, we developed a model of SSC for adrenal chromaffin cells that blends features of Ca(2+) entry-dependent SSC (characteristic of neurons) with G protein receptor-coupled, Ca(2+) release-dependent, and second messenger-dependent SSC (characteristic of epithelial exocrine cells and nucleated blood cells). This model requires two distinct pools of secretory graunules with differing Ca(2+) sensitivities. We

SUBMITTER: Misler S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3747786 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature